


Quarantined in the Kingdom

by SavedbytheMelon



Series: The Loneliest Place on Earth [1]
Category: Disney - All Media Types, Disney Parks
Genre: Disney World & Disneyland, Magic Kingdom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:20:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23868925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SavedbytheMelon/pseuds/SavedbytheMelon
Summary: With a global shutdown of all the Disney Parks & Resorts, one lucky Imagineer has been given free reign over the magic and handed the keys to the kingdom- with one stipulation. In order to allow continued maintenance of the park, Rose Davis is limited to one segment of a park at a time. In this first installment, she spends her first month of quarantine in the Magic Kingdom. While the rest of the world ached for a few minutes in the closed parks, Rose quickly learns that being cut off from the outside world isn't her idea of a dream come true.
Series: The Loneliest Place on Earth [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1720174





	Quarantined in the Kingdom

“I’m off to work.”

“Okay… be safe.”

“Hey, look at me.”

Rose hesitated. She was fairly certain that if she looked at her best friend right now, dressed in scrubs for her first shift since Orange County’s first reported case of COVID-19, she wouldn’t be able to hold the tears back any longer. And she had to be strong, damn it. She wasn’t even the one working on the front line.

Taking a deep breath, Rose took the chance and looked at Elle, her roommate and best friend of 14 years. Her eyes stung, but so far, she kept the tears from falling.

“They take care of us. We’ve been screening visitors and staff for weeks, we have plenty of PPE, and besides, it’s only one case. I’ll be okay,” Elle promised.

Rose was still scared, but there was no point in arguing. Elle had wanted to be a doctor since they were kids. She had always felt the call to serve a cause bigger than herself; she would give anything to help others, even if it meant putting herself at risk. It was one of the qualities she most admired about the petite brunette.

Putting on what she hoped was a convincing smile, Rose nodded. “Just promise me you’ll be safe,” she insisted.

Elle rolled her eyes and let out a soft chuckle. “Of course, Rose, it’s my job.”

“You know what I mean,” Rose spat.

Her best friend just laughed again. “Sorry, _Rosita_ , thank you for caring. I promise. I’ll see you when I get home?”

Now it was Rose’s turn to snicker. “Yeah, it’s not like I have anywhere else to go.”

“Just because Disney is closed doesn’t mean you can’t go to a nature park or something.” Elle poked fun at her pal’s obsession with Walt Disney World. Not that Elle wasn’t a fan – she was an annual passholder after all – but Rose made a career of knowing the ins and outs of the Disney Parks & Resorts. Rose is an Imagineer – she is part of the team that shapes Walt Disney World. Having assisted on more than ten attractions, half a dozen restaurant, and even a couple storefronts, Rose was starting to leave her mark on the Most Magical Place on Earth. Her dream, though, was to have her work in every land at the Walt Disney World Resort. Because she loved her job, it was pretty much all she did. When she wasn’t on the clock working on a project, she was still in the parks experiencing from the view of a guest. Rose had impeccable attention to detail, and she was always observing which effects stood the test of time and which needed to be fixed – or “re-imagined” as they liked to say at Disney. With the parks closed, Rose was didn’t know what to do with herself much of the time.

Rose cringed. “Ugh, too soon.”

Elle laughed, “I’ll just leave you to your misery, then. Have fun going down the YouTube rabbit hole.”

“You know me too well.”

And with that, their two-bedroom flat was silent. Taking a seat on the teal chaise in the living room, Rose brushed a few loose cooper strands from her face and opened her laptop, which was still open to YouTube from the night before. Currently, the Happily Ever After Fireworks show was paused at the ending, as she had made a habit of watching it each night before going to bed since the parks closed. How had it only been a week? It felt like an eternity.

As she was about to restart the video, Rose’s phone rang. Seeing her supervisor and mentor’s name, she answered after just one ring.

“Hey Joe, everything all right?”

“ _Rosita_! Are you feeling _Un Poco Loco_ , yet?”

Rose chuckled. Joe could always be counted on for a good Disney reference. “I’m hanging in there. I definitely miss my Kingdom, though.” Being that she had a good working relationship with Joe, she often got chosen for teams in his portfolio, which was mostly made up of Animal Kingdom and a few resorts. She was grateful for this – not only had Animal Kingdom been her favorite park since she attended as a child during its opening year, but she also loved working with Joe and the other Imagineers he handpicked for most projects. At the same time, though, she wanted to be able to see her work no matter where she was at WDW. She wouldn’t tell Joe, this, though – she was so grateful for all the opportunities he had given her, and she didn’t want to let him down.

“I actually have just the opportunity for you,” Joe interrupted her thoughts.

“Oh?”

“So I mentioned to Josh and Bob your situation…” Rose cringed. She wasn’t by her status as a cancer survivor – she just didn’t like people treating her differently because of it. She kicked cancer’s ass. She didn’t need anyone’s pity. “Joe – ”

“Hear me out, Rose. I told them that your roommate is a doctor at a local hospital that has a case of the coronavirus, and that you were an at-risk population. I thought maybe they would offer to let you stay in one of the resorts or cast members housing – I figured even Vista Way was better than you being exposed. But they went in a totally different direction… I guess they really wanted to keep all the resorts and housing empty so they didn’t have to pay security…”

“Joe, what is it?” Rose’s curiosity was peaked, and she was tired of her boss dancing around the subject. He had discussed her personal life with top executives of the Disney company – she needed to know what they said.

“They’re going to let you quarantine _in the parks_.”

“ _WHAT?”_ Rose’s jaw hung open. She must have misheard him.

“You can only be in one land at a time, but you can switch whenever you want, just give us 24 hours notice. And there won’t be any staff, so you’ll have to do everything yourself, but the kitchens are still being stocked and the power to the rides is still on.”

“What’s the catch?”

“No catch. Although… I may have mentioned to them your penchant for fixing the little things…”

“Ah, I get it. They’re hoping I’ll get bored enough to replace some light bulbs and tighten screws. I can do that.”

Joe laughed and said, “we both know you’ll do more than that, which may have been why I suggested it in the first place.”

This implication of encouragement excited Rose. “So I have free reign?”

“I’m not sure I’d say that. But I do think in this case it is better to beg for forgiveness than to ask permission.”

Rose laughed. “If I end up in court, I’m taking you with me,” she teased. They both knew that as long as they were making repairs with existing supplies, they were in the clear. If wasn’t technically part of their jobs, but they had been doing it for years and the higher ups either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Either way worked for the Imagineers, as long as they could keep the parks they loved looking as beautiful as the day they were imagined. With the last two decades of budget cuts taking its toll, WDW was becoming ever more difficult to maintain. Their focus was constantly pulled to new attractions, while they yearned to fix the existing classics that held a special place in their hearts. To be given indefinite time to repair anything she wanted… her imagination raced with the possibilities.

“Do you have any questions?” Joe interrupted her thoughts again.

“When do I get my Keys to the Kingdom?”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so the entire premise of this story is a bit of a stretch- I admit. Just trust me for a bit, suspend your disbelief, and give it a chance for the sake of the story. We just have to get this stuff out of the way so the real story can begin.


End file.
